THE animal was beached at Torry Bay, near Crombie Point in Fife this morning but, despite the best efforts of rescue teams, eventually had to be put down.

The Minkie Whale beached itself at Crombie Point in Fife (Photo: Deadline News)

Share

Get daily updates directly to your inbox

Thank you for subscribing!

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email

A MINKE whale stranded in mud flats in the Firth of Forth has died, just days after the death of another whale in the area.

Rescue teams went to the aid of the distressed whale after discovering it was in difficulty at Torry Bay, near Crombie Point in Fife, this morning.

They hoped to refloat the animal but vets decided the four metre-long whale should be put down after finding it was not in a condition to go back into the water.

Tissue samples are being taken to help work out what caused the whale to become beached. Its body will be removed from the area in due course.

The death comes three days after a pilot whale died when it became stranded in shallow waters in the Firth of Forth. At this stage, experts do not believe the deaths are linked.

Earlier today a coastguard team, fire crews and members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were at the scene assessing the situation and doing what they could to ease the minke's distress.

A spokeswoman for the BDMLR said the animal was showing signs of distress and was moving quite a lot in the mud.

"We had hoped for a rescue but it soon became clear that we weren't going to be able to, so it was just a case of keeping it comfortable," she said.

"It was clear it wasn't in a condition to be put back in the water so the vets made the decision to have it put to sleep.

"Samples are being taken at the moment. We know it did have some obvious parasites but we don't know if that added to the problem."

Earlier this week a pilot whale died naturally in water in the Silverknowes area of Edinburgh, to the east of Cramond Island in the Firth of Forth. Three attempts were made to refloat the animal but it died at around 5pm on Tuesday.

The BDMLR spokeswoman said the two cases do not appear to be linked.

"They're different species. They'll have come from different areas. I'm quite sure they stranded for different reasons."